Cooking The Thanksgiving Turkey The Day Before

[ndelaware]

I cook our turkey the gas grill and it is fabulous. It comes out moist, juicy, and tender. It frees up the oven for everything else that has to be done. And it only takes about three hours of cooking.

This is the recipe I use: http://www.weber.co.za/l-48-brined-and-barbecued-turkey-with-pan-gravy.aspx

 

[crazydaisy00]

I put my turkey on early in the morning and cook in a roaster, this frees my oven up and when its done it seems to stay fresh and hot. If we eat later I turn it on to warm up a little if needed.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I am thinking about doing this. It would make things so much easier on Thanksgiving day. I have one oven, and it would give me more room and options. I really, really dislike dealing with 'the remains' after dinner. I don't enjoy hovering over the turkey, hoping it isn't overcooked or undercooked. This way, I could keep my eye on it without a house full of people.
Has anyone out there done this? If so, please give me your best advice and cooking/storing/reheating tips to make this work well. Thanks!

I have never had the overdone or underdone turkey situation. And I think it will unfortunately taste like "reheated" turkey. A good quality turkey, one with a pop up timer
OR, just hunkering down and making the sacrifice to "check and re-check" is worth it (I never have to do that actually).
Its THANKSGIVING and YUMMY turkey is really important, LOL!
Have a Happy One whatever you decide......

 

[Diznygrl]

I have a relative who does this for all holiday meals. Not just the turkey, but all the side dishes too! And, yeah...pretty much tastes like Thanksgiving Leftover Day instead of Thanksgiving Day. I'm sure it could be done well if you know how. Unfortunately I've never had the pleasure of experiencing that.

 

[RitaZ.]

I have a relative who does this for all holiday meals. Not just the turkey, but all the side dishes too! And, yeah...pretty much tastes like Thanksgiving Leftover Day instead of Thanksgiving Day. I'm sure it could be done well if you know how. Unfortunately I've never had the pleasure of experiencing that.

Sounds yummy!

 

[Hannathy]

Is it possible for you to cook it the evening/night before so that it would be DONE at the time you went to bed, and you could leave it in the warm oven overnight, then warm it up in the morning when you get up (most people get up EARLY), then take it out to cool off as you would normally, and cook the other items?

to be safe it must be kept at either above 140 degrees and that is all the way to the center of the stuffing OR under 40 degrees.

I think a turkey sitting all day at 140 degrees is going to dry no matter what you do. cause to get to the stuffing the meat is going to have to be probably 160 or so.

I also think her idea is to free up the oven so this wouldn't work.

If I were you I would make all my side dishes the day before, because they can be refrigerated and then just warmed up.
Turkey really is a very simple meat to make so I would just cook it that day and as someone else said it's Thanksgiving there should be good fresh turkey.

 

[magicgirl]

I have frequently cooked my Christmas Turkey ( we don't do Thanksgiving in the UK) the day before and it had always tasted as good as freshly cooked.

I baste the turkey well whilst cooking and keep pouring out the excess juice which I save. I let ithe turkey rest for an hour after it has finished cooking before carving. After carving I put the meat in a dish and cover with the reserved juice. I cover with foil and refridgerate until the next day when I reheat in the oven.

I peel and slice all my veg the day before and place in water ready to be cooked. It means that I get to spend more of my Christmas Day with my family rather than in the kitchen.

 

[mickeysmate65]

OP- I cooked my turkey the day before for the first time last year. I'm planning to do it again this yr and next yr and so on. It did not taste like leftover day old turkey! As a matter of fact, I probably had more compliments on that turkey then any other! I sliced the turkey on Wednesday and put it in those large tin containers that are disposable. I then covered the meat in chicken stock or broth- can't recall which. I took it out of the fridge thanksgiving & heated in the oven. Took a lot less time. It was very tastey! I don't generally love turkey or leftovers but this was so good! And so much easier on thanksgiving day.

To all of you who haven't tried it- give a try before you bash the idea. Done correctly, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[debster812]

I always use an electric roaster. That way my oven is free for everything else.

Another option is what we do, and use our grill. Our Thanksgiving gatherings are huge, and held at my FIL's house about 3 miles from us. There are never less than 3 birds, and sometimes 4 depending on how many people are coming.

One year, ILs lost power on Thanksgiving morning, so their bird came to our house on a field trip, and we cooked it in our oven. We took the turkey we were cooking, and put it on the grill. Cooked perfectly, using a digital probe thermometer.

 

[doxdogy]

From the USDA website regarding turkeys and low temperatures. Honestly, I would err on the side of caution and either cook, carve and refrigerate the night before or I would find an alternative method of cooking it on Thanksgiving Day. The USDA does not recommend that you put it in the refrigerator whole.

Q. " What should I do? I put a 20 lb turkey in a 200 °F oven before I went to bed last night, and the pop-up timer says it's already done at 7:30 this morning. We won't be eating until 3 p.m."

A. You have two problems here. First, overnight cooking of meat at a low temperature isn't a safe method so we don't recommend eating this turkey. It's not safe to cook any meat or poultry in an oven set lower than 325 °F. At 200 °F, meat remains in the "Danger Zone" too long (between 40 and 140 °F) where bacteria multiply rapidly and can form toxins.

Secondly, holding a safely cooked turkey at a safe internal temperature of 140 °F or above for this amount of time can dry it out and affect the quality. If a safely cooked turkey must be held from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., for optimal safety and quality it should be carved and refrigerated in covered shallow containers and served cold or reheated to an internal temperature of 165 °F. Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature.

 

[pigletgirl]

What if you cooked just a turkey breast the day before? Then cook the actual bird on the day off? You want the juices from the turkey to make the gravy and that should be fresh IMO.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Honestly I wouldn't. I think as long as you have a plan you should be able to pull everything off well.

One year we traveled to my fathers and he had invited 33 people. He has an amazing kitchen but only one wall oven. (!?) My sister and I managed fine. We planned for the bird to come out 45 minutes before we wanted to eat and had the stuffing and sweet potato casserole ready to go right in when it came out. Everything else we did on the stove. We threw the rolls/bread in the oven last and it was all great.

 

[pat fan]

Just chiming in on the "holding the turkey in a warm oven overnight" debate.
PLEASE DON"T!!!!
Once the meat has been in the danger zone and spoiled, you can't cook out spoilage!!!PLEASE don't do this, you are putting everyone in danger of getting really sick and maybe worse if there are elderly or very young folks eating that meat/gravy.

I suggest cooking it the day before, cooling it properly, slicing it and putting the stock over it for re-heating the next day. You can save the pan juices in the fridge for making your gravy the next day as well. We do this at work all the time and the meat is great.

 

[minkydog]

I think it will taste like reheated turkey.

I used to feel this way, too. But after years and years of working holidays I learned to make my life easier by cooking the turkey ahead. While the turkey is cooking, I simmer the neck and giblets for an hour or so, then let it cool. After the turkey is done, let it rest a bit and cut the meat off the bone. I keep the whte meat separate from the dark meat, mainly because we have some who only eat one or the other. Wrap the meat and refrigerate. Pour the au jus off the neck & giblets and refrigerate overnight.

Next morning, the giblet au jus will be jellied. It has an intense turkey flavor. When I reheat the turkey I put a little pile in a cake pan and top with slices of the giblet jelly. Cover with foil and heat for about 25 min. When you take it out that turkey will be soooo moist and flavorful!

 

[Saphire]

I did some other 'research' and found that it agrees with those of you that have done it. Carving the turkey after it rests, putting slices into a dish with pan juices or broth, covering tightly with foil, and reheating the next day.

Thank you to those who shared their experiences with doing it this way. For those who said it wouldn't be good but never actually tried it...thanks anyway.